We are keen to get involved with Greater Bay Area development: Premier of NSW

Before the interview, Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of New South Wales, asked about our Chinese names and their special meanings, and said she keeps learning Mandarin both because of its convenience and the huge Chinese community living near where she works in New South Wales. “I can count in Cantonese as well. I had a friend from Guangzhou when I was a little girl,” she said.

Before the interview, Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of New South Wales, asked about our Chinese names and their special meanings, and said she keeps learning Mandarin both because of its convenience and the huge Chinese community living near where she works in New South Wales. “I can count in Cantonese as well. I had a friend from Guangzhou when I was a little girl,” she said.

Premier was surprised by the gift given by Guangdong —her portrait by a local painter. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Guangdong and New South Wales, the biggest economy in Australia, have a long history of close relationship. The two places established a sister relationship in 1979, making them the first pair of international sister provinces in China.

To celebrate the 38th anniversary of the sister relationship, Gladys Berejiklian led her delegation in a visit to Guangdong and participate in the joint economic meeting earlier this month.

“The joint meeting is significant for both Guangdong and NSW. Over the past 38 years, it has allowed leaders of two places to consider challenges and opportunities in our regions together,” stated Ma Berejiklian.

Gladys Berejiklian and her delegation visit IFLYTEK in Guangzhou. IFLYTEK is a renowned company dedicated to intelligent speech and language technologies. [Photo\ycwb.com]

This year, Gladys Berejiklian said she was impressed by Guangdong's plan to develop the Greater Bay area with Hong Kong, Macao and all the trade zones and economic zones in the Pearl River Delta. “I think this will be a very exciting proposition in the future. And I’m very keen to make sure New South Wales will be part of this successful story,” she said.

More specifically, Li Xi, Party Chief of Guangdong, Ma Xingrui, Governor of Guangdong and Gladys Berejiklian outlined four major areas for further cooperation.

“Leaders of Guangdong are very committed to alleviating poverty and trying to raise the standard of living of all citizens,” said Berejiklian, “aiming for this goal, we will work closely in (the fields of) health, education, high-tech and smart cities.”